China-Laos Railway
Starting from the Mohan-Boten crossing at the China-Laos border, the 414-kilometer-long China-Laos railway will run south to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is scheduled to open in December 2021, with a design speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The investment in the project will be about 40 billion Chinese yuan (US$5.76 billion), 70 percent of which comes from China and the remainder from Laos.
The construction officially got underway in December 2016, and 62.7 percent of the railway will consist of bridges and tunnels. TheLaos-China Railway Co. Ltd. is responsible for the construction and operation of the line.
This line is China's first overseas railway project to provide a direct link to China's internal rail network, and the second such project – after the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail link in Indonesia – to be built with Chinese standards, management, technology and equipment. It will also be an important section of the pan-Asia railway network.
Once in service, the railway will significantly boost the economic and social development of Laos, facilitate local transportation and improve its efficiency, and expand cooperation between China and Laos in areas such as trade, investment and tourism. It will contribute to the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and inject new life into the economy in China's southwest region.
中老铁路
中老铁路起于老中边境口岸磨丁，向南到达老挝首都万象，正线建筑长度414.332公里，其中62.7% 以上路段为桥梁和隧道，设计时速160公里，全线采用中国管理标准和技术标准建设，总投资近400亿人民币，建设工期5年，2016年12月全线开工，2017年年中进入全面施工状态，计划在2021年12月建成通车。由中老两国合资的老中铁路有限公司负责全线建设和运营管理，由中老双方按70%和30%的股比合资建设。中老铁路不仅是第一个以中方为主投资建设、共同运营并与中国铁路网直接联通的境外铁路项目，也是继印尼雅万高铁项目之后第二个全面采用中国标准、中国技术和装备的国际铁路建设项目。该条线路同时也将成为泛亚铁路网的重要组成部分。中老铁路项目建成后，一方面将极大地带动老挝经济社会发展，提高当地运输效率和水平， 扩大和提升中老两国在经济、贸易、投资、旅游等领域的合作，进一步增强中国—东盟自贸区的经济联系；另一方面也将为中国西南地区经济发展注入新的动力。